Kakapo photo:

Photograph of Sirocco the Kakapo on Ulva Island, New Zealand.

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Picture of Sirocco the Kakapo.

Yes it been very long time since my last photoblog. About time I started putting more time in to it. So to start things off again I have a shot taken from last years photo trip to Stewart Island. This shot taken during the Kakapo encounter on Ulva Island. It is of course of Sirocco. Sirocco is effectively the "ambassador" for the species. He is also the only Kakapo a member of the general public is likely to see. Which is very sad to say.

Photographically speaking this was a difficult shot to get. Taken at night under very low light without using a flash. Add to this was having to take the picture though dirty perspex, while having to fight with other members of the group for space. Most frustrating however was that while DOC rightly prohibit flash photography (for the obvious protection of this nocturnal bird), they allow things like focusing lights etc. So you wind up with frames of an orange and green bird, or shots ruined by reflections from point and shot LCD monitors. Still I'm reasonably happy with how this shot turned out, considering the problematic shooting conditions. I used my 50mm lens as its the fastest I own. However its not stabilised and I was shooting hand-held. So I braced myself hard in against a tree and waited until the parrot was relatively still. Which wasn't often as Sirocco was very excited with all the visitors. It was great to see Sirocco racing about. It was very cool to be able to see this special bird up so close. More Kakapo bird photos in the Parrot bird photosection of my NZ Birds Photo Gallery. Some more NZ bird pictures : Spur-winged Plover, Endangered Takahe, Pied Stilt, Yellow-crowned Kakariki, Endangered Saddleback. You can navigate all my photography by clicking the All Photos link at the top of every page. Photograph taken with my Nikon D300 Digital SLR camera. Search more of my photos here!

Some Kakapo Info.

Other names : Owl parrot, Night parrot.
Abundance : Extremely Rare.
Status : Endemic, protected.
Found : 2 DOC controlled, restricted islands off the bottom of New Zealand's South Island.
Note : You cannot usually see Kakapo on Ulva Island, New Zealand.

The Kakapo (meaning night parrot in Maori), is a species of flightless nocturnal parrot endemic to New Zealand. It has finely blotched yellow-green plumage, a distinct facial disc of feathers, a large grey beak, short legs, large feet, and wings and a tail of relatively short length. A combination of traits makes it unique among its kind - it is the world's only flightless parrot, the heaviest parrot, nocturnal, herbivorous, and is the only parrot to have a polygynous lek breeding system. It is also possibly one of the world's longest-living birds.

Kakapo have a New Zealand conservation status of "Nationally Critical". The most seriously threatened of species in NZ.
Please visit the Department Of Conservations Kakapo pages, to see what you can to help the Kakapo.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/birds/land-birds/kakapo/you-can-help/

You can even make friends with Sirocco via his Facebook page.

Photo taken with my Nikon D300 DSLR.

Sirocco the Kakapo photo information. Image Description: Sirocco photographed at night. Ulva Island, New Zealand. Camera Make: Nikon Corporation. Camera Model: Nikon D300 Digital SLR (DSLR). Date: 24th October 2009. Focal Length: 50mm 35mm Equiv Focal Length: 75mm Aperture: f/1.8 White Balance: Manual. Flash Used: No. Exposure Time: 1/10th second. Light Source: Flash Metering Mode: Spot. Exposure Mode: Manual. ISO: 1000 Lens Used: Nikon 50mm. Accessories Utilised: Nikon MB-D10 battery grip. Nikon EN-EL3e Li-ion battery pack. Scandisk Extream IV CompactFlash. Software: Converted from RAW with Nikon Capture NX. Post editing with The Gimp 2.6. Photo edits: Minor crop. Several minor blemishes caused by perspex removed. Levels, then sharpen. Add border and scale. Photographer Comments: My 1st Kakapo photograph. Model Credit: Sirocco the Kakapo. Photograph Copyright: © Glen Webber 2010. All rights reserved.

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Daily nature and wildlife picture posts from New Zealand and around the world. So everyone come back. Yay photo posted. More to come. Thanks everyone, Glen. Find more wildlife photos by searching here! Like my photography? Follow me on twitter @glen_co_nz. Thoughts or opinion? Leave a comment below, by clicking the comments link.